Being Positive in a Negative World

Think about the culture that we live in. Sarcasm is the norm and people aren't afraid to "tell it like it is" over their multiple social media handles. I work in Social Media. I read a lot of Tweets, Facebook posts, and trendy internet things. Often times, negativity outweighs positivity. 

The cool thing here is that now this negativity tidal wave has not left me washed up on the shore defeated and helpless, but has only encouraged me to kick up the positivity. 

Here are some reasons why I think that being positive over our social media handles is important: 

• If you are a follower of Christ, then He calls you to be the salt and the light. 
• We can direct our complaints and frustration to God instead of our social media handles. 
• We have the opportunity to be missional everywhere!
• You may not realize who is being affected by your social media influence

This month's focus is the Positivity. I'm going to be sharing my thoughts on those topics above and encouraging/challenging you and myself to be the positive in the midst of the negatives. 

You can get a head start by starting today! Do something nice for a stranger or a friend, encourage someone via Tweet, Facebook Post, Blog, or just choose not to participate in the negativity. I am fully confident that you can do this! 

Blessings, JJ

Fun with Diptic

One of my most favorite things to do is to snap photos on Instagram and my iPhone. I love capturing small life moments and documenting my life photo style.
Sometimes Mr. Luke and I catch ourselves in the dilemma of not getting the quality photo that we want because no one is there to snap it for us. We came up with our own solution.


Diptic is one of my most used iPhone apps.


Make sure that when you set your photo up, you stand either way right or way left so you'll have enough room for the other person. If you're standing in the same place, the trick won't work.


You take the photos in shifts. It will be easier to line up the frame if both of you try to stand in the same spot and hold the phone at the same level. 

See how I'm standing more to the right and Mr. Luke is standing more to the left? Think about things like this when it's your turn to be in the photo. If you stand in the same place, then you can't line up the photo properly.

Piece the photos together in Diptic. Make sure you try to line up the background. In our case, it was really important that the stump was pretty level.

Disclaimer: every photo will not come out perfect. Who cares?! It's really fun to do and 99% of the time people are amazed and don't see the tiny flaws!

Also, I added text to this photo using the Phonto App (it's another one of my favorites!) and then I ran it through Instagram forever monumenting our day trip to Natchez, MS.

Here are some of our favorite pictures that we've pieced together:

Try removing the frames when piecing together in Diptic. Even though the alignment is a tiny bit off, you really can't tell.

I'd love to see what you come up with!

Blessings, 
JJ

Abide in Love

A phrase that's thrown around in Christian culture is Abide in love. Have you ever stopped and wondered what that means? What does the word abide really mean? How are we supposed to do that?

Well.... I was wondering the same thing. 

John 15:9 says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." I encourage you to read the big chunk of scripture in the first part of John 15. 

Here is the Greek definition for the word abide as it was used in John 15:

to remain, to be held, not to depart, kept, to wait for

Aren't all of those words so safe and beautiful? The key to abiding in God's love is to stay with Jesus, to wait for Jesus, to be held by Jesus. Let these words marinate in your brain for a little while. 

Now the real kicker is how do we do that? How do we abide? How do we stay with Jesus when we're constantly being pulled away by a different distraction every 5 minutes? You try. You stand. You choose to abide. You can choose to stand strong and secure on the Rock both when it's easy and when it's hard. The cool part is that if Jesus lives inside you, then He'll help you. You just have to let Him!

Use that visual example from John 15 to help you rest in the fact that you are connected to Christ. He gives life, supports us when we're struggling, and longs for us to grow in our faith.  Let's apply it!

Blessings, 

JJ

New Name New Journey

Hello Friends!

Today is the beginning of a new blog journey. I am retiring the name of Razor Sharp diving into a new blog theme that does not necessarily focus on my everyday life, but that is focused on ministering to girls seeking God and resting in His freedom. I am thrilled to introduce Crafts & Conversation!

Crafts & Conversation a life blog thats focused on living a full, fun, and beautiful life thats rooted and grounded in Christ. C&C is a celebration of the Gospel where we will find encouragement and inspiration in our every day lives. Join in with me and spend some time making crafts and cultivating uplifting conversation. 

I'm really excited about this new blog journey!

Blessings, JJ

Coffee Shop Show

One of my favorite spots in Jackson is Sneaky Beans. Its a cool coffee shop in Fondren with really tasty coffee. 

Mr. Luke played guitar with local musician Jason Bruce

3 of our great friends, Laura, Daniel, + Matt all came out to support Mr. Luke. 

I love chatting and laughing over coffee with cool music playing in the background. 

 Sweet memories. 

Have you done anything cool lately?